Device for improving detection of contaminants

ABSTRACT

997,974. Valves. BOWSER Inc. Jan. 30, 1964 [May 6, 1963], No. 4022/64. Heading F2V. [Also in Division B1] A device for dispersing a contaminant in a liquid flow, e.g. water in a liquid fuel, to produce a uniform dispersion for testing purposes (see Figs. 1 and 3, not shown), comprises a conduit 12 discharging through apertures 70 into a conduit 14; a chamber 78 resiliently biased against the liquid flow 82 uncovers a greater number of apertures as the rate of flow increases in order to provide a substantially constant pressure-drop across the device. Specification 993,479 is referred to.

Se t. 13, 1966 a. J. TOPOL 3,271,998

DEVICE FOR IMPROVING DETECTION OF CONTAMINANTS Filed May 6, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

GEORGE J. TQPOL BY w mw *"IHIIIIEIIII 32 Sept. 13, 1966 DEVICE FORIMPROVING DETECTION OF CONTAMINANTS Filed May 6, 1963 a; J. TOPOL3,271,998

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PPM OF WATER FTC .2

2O 4O 6O 80 100 PERCENTAGE OF FLOW INVENTOR.

GEORGE J. TOPOL BY Ma United States Patent M 3,271,998 DEVICE FORIMPROVING DETECTION OF CONTAMINANTS George J. Topol, Hamilton, Ontario,Canada, assignor to Bowser, Inc, Cookeville, Tenn., a corporation ofIndiana Filed May 6, 1963, Ser No. 278,351 3 Claims. (Cl. 73-53) Thisinvention relates to a device which is usable for improving thedetection and measurement of contaminants by improving the degree ofdispersion of such contaminants within the fuel or other liquid beingmonitored.

There are a number of proposed detection-and-measuring devices formonitoring the amount of contamination which exists within a fluidmedium. One application of such measurement and detection is in thefield of fuels which are used in powering aircraft engines. Since it isimportant that the fuels be as free as possible from water and othercontaminants, it is necessary to provide a reliable and adequatemeasuring and detecting system which accurately and continuouslyprovides information on the condition of the fuel at the time it isconveyed to the aircraft.

One of the measuring devices which has proved successful in detecting awide range of contaminants, including liquid phase contaminants, isdisclosed and fully described in copending application Serial No.152,892, filed Nov. 16, 1961 and titled Instrument and Process forTesting Contamination in Liquid Materials. This application is based onthe principle of measuring the amount of reflected light which isreceived by a photocell from dispersed contaminants within the fuel orother liquid being measured, the photocell being effectively shieldedfrom all other light than such reflected light. It is an importantcharacteristic of this measuring device that it is highly sensitive, canbe calibrated with precision, and in the event of malfunction this factis readily made known to the operator so that necessary adjustments canbe quickly and easily effected. The principle of the device, sometimesreferred to as a TOTAMITOR is that the contaminants must be effectivelydispersed substantially uniformly throughout the fuel or other liquidbeing measured for its degree of contamination. If substantiallycomplete dispersion is not obtained, the TOTA- MIT OR will not provide areliable detection of the degree of contamination.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of the present invention is toprovide a new and improved device which will, with minimum powerconsumption, effect a substantially complete and uniform dispersion ofany contaminants within a liquid in order to obtain a more reliableoperation of a contaminat-ion-detecting-and-measuring apparatus.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide acontamination-dispersing means which is readily combinable with a fluidflow system capable of dispersing the contaminants within the entireflow of fluid under test. In the present invention, the test results aremore direct and more reliable since the entirety of the fluid is testedrather than merely a sampling thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to achieve, by reason of afine dispersion of contaminants, a uniform response of the testingapparatus to such dispersion and which is calibrated to provide anaccurate evaluation of the degree of purity of the liquid. By avoidingcoarsely dispersed contaminants which are less detectable, there issusbtituted, therefor, a uniform fine dispersion which gives a higherreading and a reading which is consistently directly proportioned tocontamination.

A further object of the invention is to provide a disper- 3,271,998vPatented Sept. 13, 1966 sion-producing device which will effect aconstant degree of dispersion independently of flow rate and which,therefore, will provide the sensing-and-measuring device with a reliablereading of the degree of contamination regardless of the flow rate.

It forms an important feature of the present invention that thedisperser does not require a motor drive or other mechanical drive butinstead can be simply added to the flow distributing system.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from aconsideration of the following description which proceeds with referenceto the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a flow diagram illustrating how the invention is combinedwith a flow distributing system and measuring apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the invention, shown detachedfrom the rest of the system and illustrating the direction of flows;and,

FIGURE 3 illustrates how the present invention by producing a uniformdispersion contaminants causes the sensing apparatus to be relativelyunaffected by change in flow rate of the liquid undergoing test.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG- URE l a disperser,designated generally by reference numeral 10, which is located in seriesconnection with supply line 12 so that all of the fuel (or other fluidbeing measured) will pass through the disperser 10 in line 12 and thenfrom line 14 to a contamination-sensing-andmeasuring device 16 havingelectrical connections through conductors 18, 20 with an amplifier 22having a suitable gauge 24.

The turbidity amplifier 22 is connected with a battery 30 through aconductor 26 having a pressure switch 32 which establishes opening andclosing of contacts connecting conductor 26 with conductor 40. As soonas the valve 35 is depressed the pressure switch 32 energizes theamplifier 22 and the device 16. A light in the device 16 will beilluminated by power supplied through line 18 and the photo cell signalis supplied to the amplifier 22 via line 20. As long as the fuel flowingthrough the device 16 is clean the relay inside of the amplifier 22keeps the valve 46 opened by keeping its coil 44 energized through line28. Should contamination occur in the fuel the relay in the amplifier 22will de-energize line 28 and solenoid 44 causing the valve 46 to close.The valve 46 is a three-way valve and when tie-energized line 48communicates with line 49. As a result, pressure below the diaphragmkeeping the shut-off valve 50 open will be released to the atmosphereand the valve 50 will shutoff the flow of fuel.

To enable delivery of the fuel tWo conditions must be met; first thedead man valve 35 must be opened; this through closing the contacts 42will put the device 16 in operation. The valve 46 has to be opened topermit the pressure from the tank 34 to communicate through line 36 and48 with valve 50 and thus to open valve 46. Manual closing of valve 35or automatic closing of the solenoid valve 49 result in stoppage of flowof fuel through the system.

The disperser and the device 16 is located between the meter 62 and thehose-reel 64 so that the instrument will monitor the fuel as it isdelivered rather than monitoring its cleanliness before the separator56.

The principle on which the device 16 is based is that the degree ofcontamination is directly related to the amount of contamination whichis sensed by a photocell otherwise shielded from all other light, thedegree of light sensed being a function of the number of dispersedparticles. Accordingly, since one large aggregate of contaminant wouldgive a lower measurement than the same contaminant in the form of aplurality of smaller ones,

it is necessary to obtaining a reliable measure of contamination toconvert coarse dispersed contaminants into a fine dispersion uniformlydistributed throughout the flow and provide thereby a reading ofcontamination which is consistent over a wide range of flow rates forthe liquid being measured. In this way, the degree of contaminationwhich is registered by the device 16 will be related to the absoluteamount of contamination and will be unaffected by the size or initialdistribution of the contaminants and is also unaffected by fluid flow.

To effect a conversion of the contaminants to suitable size anddistribution, the disperser receives the entire flow from line 12 andbefore discharging it to line 14 effects the dispersion as required. Thedisperser 10 does not require any external power and it provides itsnecessary function with only negligible power requirement. That is, onlya slight pressure drop occurs across the disperser'lO to obtaindispersing action substantially uniformly over a wide range of flowrates in line 12.

The line 12 (FIGURE 2) has a plurality of orifices 70 which permit thefluid to flow from line 12 in radial directions as indicated by arrows72 into an annular space 74 provided by a sleeve 76 which surrounds line12 and is connected integrally with line 14. Within the end of the line12 is mounted a fluid pressure responsive piston 78 which is biased by aspring 80 in a direction tending to oppose the pressure effecting fluidflow in line 12 and indicated by arrows 82 so that the piston 78normally moves in a direction covering the orifices 7th but, the face 84of the piston being exposed to the pressure in line 12 causes the pistonto be biased leftwardly against the resistance of spring 80 by an amountproportional to the fuel flow rate in line 12.

Thus, the piston 78 is moved to the right at low flow rate and to theleft of the position shown in FIGURE 2 for high flow rate to uncoveradditional orifices 70 whereby there is minimum pressure drop for thefluid in passing from line 12 to line 14.

Any contaminants in the form of suspended free water droplets tend to bebroken up into uniform sizes on passing through the orifices 70 and byvirtue of the number and placement of the orifices, such contaminantswill be distributed substantially evenly throughout the line 14 so thatwhen the contaminants reach device 16, the degree of dispersed lightwill be directly related to the degree of contamination and such factorsas contamination size and distribution will not conduce to an erroneousreading provided by the instrument 16. Instead, the reading will beaccurately related to the degree of contamination, independently of thenature of the contaminant, its size and initial distribution. Moreover,the reading provided by the instrument as to the purity of the liquidwill remain the same regardless of the flow rate of the fuel or otherliquid which passes through the instrument.

Referring to FIGURE 3, there is shown there three different levels ofcontamination, and how the contamination-sensing device is relativelyunaffected by the flow rate. That is, for the same degree ofcontamination, there is only a negligible change in contaminationreading by varying the flow rate. This means, that such parameters asflow rate, size of contaminants and distribution are not conducive tofalsified instrument readings as to the degree of purity.

Furthermore, the total amount of liquid such as fuel and the like, ispassed through the sensing instrument and therefore inaccurate readingsare avoided, which sometimes arise by an attempt to samplerepresentative portions of the fuel, this method lending itself to errorbecause the sample is not always truly representative.

In operation, the device 10 is coupled between sections 12 and 14 priorto the fluid reaching instrument 16 so that the total flow of fluid isfirst passed through the disperser and the contaminants formed into auniform dispersion evenly distributed throughout the liquid by virtue ofthe orifices 70 which direct the flow from longitudinal flow to a radialflow through a plurality of the orifices, and are then mixed withinannular space 74. The flow isthen combined within a passage 14. Sincethe number of uncovered openings 76 which provide for radial flow, isdirectly proportional to pressure in line 12, there is a constantpressure drop across the device 10 regardless of the flow rate. There isno requirement for power operated dispersing means and the device 10operates responsively to pressure and provides automatically anappropriate dispersion effect so that the instrument 16 is best capableof providing an accurate and constant recording of convtamination.

In all other respects, the operation of the instrument 16 is the same asdescribed in my previously filed copending application, citedhereinbefore. Operation of the measuring device 16 is enhanced by thedevice 10 which adapts the contaminants to a more detectable and uniformcondition for recording. The disperser describes consumes very littlepower and can be added very economically and enhances :the accuracy andcalibration of the instrument 16. Therefore fluids can be moreaccurately monitored and corrective action taken before the level ofcontamination can produce untoward results.

The equipment is carried on a cart and the hose secured to a hydrant(not shown) and the operation commences as described to deliver fuel toan aircraft or other vehicle through line 64 until the apparatus detectsa contaminated condition of the fuel and will terminate the operation.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described inconnection with a single example embodiment, it will be understood thatthis is illustrative and is in no sense restrictive thereof. It isreasonably to be expected that those skilled in the art can makenumerous revisions and adaptations of the invention to suit individualdesign requirements and it is intended that such revisions andadaptations which incorporate the principles disclosed herein, will beincluded within the scope of the following claims as equivalents of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A device adapted to effect a substantially uniform dispersion ofwater in a system for testing for such contaminants, comprising:

(a) means having a plurality of individually formed openings which arespaced therein for conveying a quantity of fluid;

(b) fluid pressure-responsive piston-valve means having orifice controlsurfaces adapted to cover and uncover said openings which areconstructed to provide a cumulative area defining the effective totalorifice opening through which fluid is passed from said conveying meansinto said chamber;

(c) means for biasing said fluid pressure-responsive means in adirection which tends to reduce the number of uncovered orifices, saidpressure-responsive means being movable to increase the number ofavailable orifice openings defining the effective orifice area tomaintain a substantially constant pressure differential regardless ofthe degree of flow;

(d) and contaminant measuring means for receiving the flow of fluidafter it has passed through said orifices to become substantiallycompletely dispersed in said flow.

2. A device adapted to effect a substantially uniform dispersion ofcontaminants in a system for testing for such contaminants, comprising:

(a) means having a plurality of individually spaced openings therein forconveying a quantity of fluid;

(b) a chamber surrounding the end of said conveying means;

(c) fluid pressure-responsive means having orifice-control surfaceswhich overlie said spaced openings adapted for defining the effectiveoutlet orifice for the fluid conveyed through said conveying means;

((1) means for biasing said fluid pressure-responsive means in adirection which tends to reduce the number of available openings andthereby restrict said orifices, said pressure-responsive means beingmovable to increase the available number of openings and therebyincrease the effective orifice area to maintain a substantially constantpressure d-iflerential regardless of the degree of flow;

(e) and contaminant measuring means for receiving the flow of fluidafter it has passed through said orifices to become substantiallycompletely dispersed in said flow.

3. A device adapted to eflect a substantially uniform dispersion ofcontaminants in a system for testing for such contaminants, comprising:

(a) means having a plurality of spaced openings therein for conveying aquantity of fluid;

(b) a chamber surrounding the end of said conveying means;

(c) fluid pressure-responsive means having orifice-control surfacesadapted to cover and uncover said openings which define the outletorifices through which fluid is passed from said conveying means intosaid chamber;

(d) resilient yieldable means for biasing said fluid pressure-responsivemeans in a direction which tends to restrict the number of openingsWhich are spaced in said conveying means and thereby control theeffective size of said orifices, said pressure-responsive means beingmovable to increase the effective orifice area to maintain asubstantially constant pressure differential regardless of the degree offlow;

(e) contaminant measuring means for receiving the flow of fluid after ithas passed through said orifices to become substantially completelydispersed in said flow;

(f) and means for delivering the fluid to be tested from said chamber tosaid measuring means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,846,577 2/1932Bar ber 137538 X 2,571,470 10/1951 Milligan 7353 2,826,216 3/1958 Thomas137538 3,111,839 11/1963 Evans et al. 73-61 DAVID SCHONBERG, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A DEVICE ADAPTED TO EFFECT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DISPERSION OFWATER IN A SYSTEM FOR TESTING FOR SUCH CONTAMINANTS, COMPRISING: (A)MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUALLY FORMED OPENINGS WHICH ARESPACED THEREIN FOR CONVEYING A QUANTITY OF FLUID; (B) FLUIDPRESSURE-RESPONSIVE PISTON-VALVE MEANS HAVING ORIFICE CONTROL SURFACESADAPTED TO COVER AN UNCOVER SAID OPENINGS WHICH ARE CONSTRUCTED TOPROVIDE A CUMULATIVE AREA DEFINING THE EFFECTIVE TOTAL ORIFICE OPENINGTHROUGH WHICH FLUID IS PASSED FROM SAID CONVEYING MEANS INTO SAIDCHAMBER; (C) MEANS FOR BIASING SAID FLUID PRESSURE-RESPONSIVE MEANS IN ADIRECTION WHICH TENDS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF UNCOVERED ORIFICES, SAIDPRESSURE-RESPONSIVE MEANS BEING MOVABLE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OFAVAILABLE ORIFICE OPENINGS DEFINING THE EFFECTIVE ORIFICE AREA TOMAINTAIN A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL REGARDLESS OFTHE DEGREE OF FLOW; (D) AND CONTAMINANT MEASURING MEANS FOR RECEIVINGTHE FLOW OF FLUID AFTER IT HAS PASSED THROUGH SAID ORIFICES TO BECOMESUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY DISPERSED IN SAID FLOW.